Student finds new home through lacrosse

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Amy Garica

Aaron Garcia faces off to start off the game. “The adrenaline just kicks in, and it doesn’t stop until the game’s over,” Aaron Garcia 9 said.

Madison Maddox, Ranger Review Reporter

Aaron Garcia 9 is a student at Lewis-Palmer High School who used to play for a youth lacrosse Rangers team and plans on playing for the school team in the spring.

Aaron is the youngest child of 5. He lives in Monument, but works on family land in Penrose, Colorado, an agricultural town, where he tends to alpacas. Aaron moved here from California in 2016.  Although the move was hard, he has made many lifelong friends since then.

Lacrosse is his favorite sport, he has been playing since 4th grade and it has been his favorite ever since. 

“Because it’s a contact sport and there’s not as many injuries as football, and it’s more of agility instead of strength,” Garcia said.

Garcia is a midfielder and a defender.  A midfielder runs from goal to goal trying to get past and score, they also play defense. A defender plays defense if the other team’s midfielders have the ball.

 “My dad used to play football when he was in college and his number was 76 so I took that idea and put it on my jersey,” Garcia said. His jersey number is very personal to him, it resembles a connection toward his father.

Although he has been playing since 4th grade, Aaron plans to stop his junior year. “Just falling out of the sport really,” Garcia said.

Practices on the lacrosse team, according to Aaron, consist of running drills and plays of things that would actually happen in a game.

“The adrenaline just kicks in, and it doesn’t stop until the game’s over,” Aaron Garcia 9 said. 

Aaron wants to go into a branch of the military, he plans on going into the Coast Guard. “I grew up with the water and now that I’m gone, I just keep wanting to go back,” Garcia said.